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Marketers Say Nike Outscores adidas on Instagram

Nike Adidas Instagram

Reports of nabbing market share by outmanoeuvring them on youth-centric social platforms might be coming to an end.

Marketers from Digiday dove into Nike’s social practices — Instagram in particular — and found them outscoring adidas in mention metrics, despite the Swoosh's minimal social output. In an age when accounts post every other hour, Nike's main account seems to average a new post a week. Data from Share Creative reflects as much, showing that like and comments on Nike’s page dropped by nearly half between May and December 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

Still, YouGov BrandIndex’s ‘Impression Score’ — which measures positive and negative engagement — has Nike leading adidas at 47-41. The numbers are similar for an audience you’d think adidas are dominating, the 18-34-year-old bracket. But it seems the Three Stripes are trailing the Swoosh 51-56. Remember, this is during a comparatively slow year for Nike.

They’re still not doing everything right, however. Digiday’s sources say Nike haven’t utilised influencers as well as they could have, with only one of their top six posts using an influencer (Kendrick Lamar) to sell sneakers.


It’s possible that 2017’s slip in activity was just Nike biding their time. As CNBC reports, Beaverton plans to increase Direct to Consumer sales by allowing consumers to purchase sneakers through Instagram. The details of this venture haven't been outlined yet, but Nike's latest social metrics show they’re prepped to make a mint.

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